Bald Eagle Area and State College are both 3-1 as the 2021 high school football season moves into its fifth week, and Penns Valley evened its record at 2-2 against Philipsburg-Osceola last Friday.
Bellefonte has had a bone-rattling schedule so far and is 1-3, but it doesn’t get any easier for the Raiders with 4-0 Clearfield lined up for Friday night.
And P-O, also 1-3, took its third close, late-game loss at Penns Valley last week.
Everyone will be in action again this week and here’s a brief look at what is happening:
PENNS VALLEY (2-2) AT BALD EAGLE AREA (3-1)
SEPT. 24, WINGATE
The Penns Valley Rams used two interceptions, a blocked punt, and a game-clinching, 80-yard run by Ty Watson to upend Philipsburg-Osceola, 35-20, last Friday night at PV.
The win evened the Rams’ record at 2-2 for the season and dropped the Mounties to 1-3.
Watson’s run was preceded by perhaps an even bigger play by him—as P-O was driving for a possible game-tying score, Watson intercepted a Ben Gustkey pass deep in PV territory with just over a minute to play that preserved the Rams’ eight-point lead.
One play later, he was in the end zone and PV had its second Mountain League victory. This week the Rams will travel to Wingate to take on the high-powered spread offense of Bald Eagle Area.
BEA so far is 3-1 for the season with victories over Troy, 20-0, North Penn Mansfield, 50-7, and Huntingdon, 42-0. The team’s only loss came at the hands of undefeated Clearfield, 21-0, on Sept. 4.
Against Huntingdon last week, the Eagles scored three times in the first quarter, twice more in the second, and then coasted out from there for the 42-0 win.
Quarterback Carson Nagle had a career day against the Bearcats, throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns. He threw two TD passes to Owen Irvin, one to Kahale Burns, and one to Gavin Eckley.
BEA also got rushing touchdowns from Chase Thompson and Chandler Burns. Irwin led the team in receiving with 4 catches for 118 yards.
Against PV, the Eagles will be going for their second Mountain League win, while the Rams are 2-1 with league wins over Huntingdon and P-O and a loss to Clearfield.
This game between old rivals will likely again come down to mistakes and turnovers. The Rams were able to overcome them in their wins over the Bearcats and Mounties, but the explosive Eagles may be another story altogether.
Kick off is at 7 p.m. in Wingate.
CLEARFIELD (4-0) AT BELLEFONTE (1-3)
SEPT. 24, BELLEFONTE
Bellefonte has seen more than its share of good football teams so far — Jersey Shore, P-O, Tyrone, and Hollidaysburg — and things will certainly not get any easier with undefeated Clearfield coming to visit on Friday night.
The Raiders are 1-3 with a 22-6 victory over the Mounties, but they found very little luck against the other three.
Last Friday in Hollidaysburg, the Tigers’ Xander Bainey took off for a 56-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter that gave his team a 14-0 lead.
From there, the game was all Hollidaysburg. The Tigers scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 28-0 halftime lead, and then they added two more on short runs in both the third and fourth quarters.
HHS quarterback Jake McGinnis threw two firsthalf touchdown passes, but it was the running game of the Tigers that told the story. They ran for a total of 295 yards and four touchdowns against the Raiders and were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Bellefonte, on the other hand, was held to 162 yards total — 76 passing — and was unable to break through with a score.
Clearfield, 4-0 this season, has wins over DuBois, Bald Eagle, Penns Valley and Tyrone.
The Bison have given up just 19 total points — an average of less than 5 points per game — and have been scoring just under 30 points each night.
Against Tyrone last Friday — a 42-12 win — the Eagles kept it close until halftime and then Clearfield went to its running game and pulled steadily away in the second half for the win.
In all, the Bison ran for just under 400 yards on the ground, led by quarterback Oliver Billotte and running backs Carter Chamberlain, Mark McGonigal and Jose Alban.
Bellefonte and Clearfield did not play last season, but the series has been marked by close games and playoff matchups.
The Raiders will have to be on top of their game for that to be true again this year.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Bellefonte.
STATE COLLEGE (3-1) AT CENTRAL DAUPHIN EAST (3-1)
SEPT. 24, LINGLESTOWN
The Central Dauphin East football team did not win a game last season, and it only won three in 2019. But the Panthers are on a mission in 2021 to atone for those seasons and so far they are right on track.
CD East is 3-1 in 2021 with wins over Warwick, Cedar Cliff and Altoona (27-10 last Friday). The only loss came at Manheim Township, 24-21, on Aug. 28.
Against Altoona last Friday, East unleashed a balanced offense that ran up more than 400 yards against the Mountain Lions and that was led by quarterback Terrence Jackson Copney, running back Marcel McDaniels and wide receiver (and Penn State recruit) Mehki Flowers.
Copney completed 6-of-9 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns, while McDaniels ran for 160 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown and Flowers caught 5 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
The trio, plus a defense that held Altoona to just 245 yards, will present major problems for the 3-1 Little Lions, especially on the road.
SC pulled away from Chambersburg for a 38-22 Mid Penn Conference win last Friday in State College.
The Little Lions took a 24-6 halftime lead, extended it to 38-14 going into the fourth quarter, and then closed it out from there.
Quarterback Finn Furmanek threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 11 completions and ran for 69 yards and another touchdown.
For the season, Furmanek has now completed 41-of-73 passes for 754 yards and 7 touchdowns and run for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Furmanek, Brady Bendik, and Owen Yerka are the leading runners on the team.
The CD East game is an important matchup for the Lions, and it marks the beginning of a slate of six games against the best teams in the Mid Penn — East, Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley, Carlisle, Harrisburg and Altoona.
Gametime is at 7 p.m.
MOSHANNON VALLEY (2-2) AT PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (1-3)
SEPT. 24, PHILLIPSBURG
Phillipsburg-Osceola will be stepping outside of the Mountain League with a matchup against local rival Moshannon Valley at home on Sept. 24.
The Black Knights got off to a slow start this season with losses to two very good teams in North Star and Bellwood-Antis.
Since then, however, Mo Valley made a complete turnaround and took impressive wins over Claysburg-Kimmel, 28-12, and West Branch, 21-0.
Against C-K, running back Levi Knuth ran the ball 22 times for 209 yards and four touchdowns to spearhead the Knights’ first win.
Then last Friday against West Branch, Mo Valley turned things over to its defense and shut out the Warriors in a win that evened its record at 2-2.
One of the highlights came at the end of the first half when, ahead by a touchdown, the Knights stopped the Warriors four times inside their own 10-yard line and turned them away with no points.
Mo Valley also had six takeaways — three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
Knuth scored twice in the game. He returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and then scored later in the second half on a 15-yard run. Niko Smeal scored the other touchdown on a 20-yard run.
Quarterback/defensive back Ethan Webb had a big night with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
P-O will enter the game 1-3 after another late, heartbreaking loss.
At Penns Valley last week, the Mounties were driving late deep into Ram territory, down 28-20 and looking for a potential tying score.
Instead, PV’s Ty Watson stepped in front of a receiver and intercepted a Ben Gustkey pass to end the P-O drive.
On the next play, Watson took a handoff and ran 80 yards for a Penns Valley touchdown and sealed the Rams’ 35-20 win.
It was the third time this season that the Mounties were turned away driving for either a leading or tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Now, with a Mo Valley team coming off a six-takeaway game, the Mounties will have to be extra careful with the football and line up to stop what has become a very good Black Knight running game.
Anything can happen in this game with the team making the fewest mistakes taking the advantage.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Philipsburg.
This story appears in the Sept. 23-29 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
